Onion Salmonella Lawsuits, However, Just Beginning
FDA and CDC Announce End of Salmonella Oranienburg Onion Outbreak
Just yesterday, February 2, 2022, the FDA and the CDC announced that the multistate Salmonella Oranienburg Outbreak linked with whole, fresh onions sourced from the State of Chihuahua, Mexico is officially over.
According to the CDC, the Salmonella Oranienburg Outbreak linked to onions affected 1,040 people, though this number is likely much lower than the real number, as many people who become infected never get tested or report their case. Of the 1,040 people affected by the outbreak, 260 people were hospitalized, however, there were no deaths attributed to the outbreak. The outbreak spanned across 39 different states, as well as in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
The onions implicated in the Salmonella Oranienburg Outbreak were supplied by ProSource Produce LLC and Keeler Family Farms and imported from the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, to the United States beginning on July 1, 2021 through August 31, 2021. The first cases of illnesses linked to this outbreak began on May 31, 2021, with the number of cases in the U.S. spiking towards the end of August, 2021, and tampering out at the beginning of October, 2021.
While the investigation was ongoing, various recalls were issued from different retailers. The full list of recalls can be viewed here. The origin of the outbreak was determined through a series of different investigations. In September 31, 2021, the FDA implemented enhanced Salmonella screening of onions imported to the United States, however, the growing season had already ended and the onions were no longer being imported from the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, so this measure was unsuccessful in determining the source of the contamination. However, the FDA conducted domestic and Foreign Supplier Verification Program investigations of any supplier of onions to the U.S. from the State of Chihuahua, Mexico. These investigations allowed health officials to narrow down potential producers in the region of Chihuahua which may be the source of the contamination and to focus on reforming their safety protocols.
The FDA states that in the coming onion growing season, they plan to implement “additional tools, such as import screening and sampling, for onions grown and harvested in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico”.
As the Salmonella Oranienburg Outbreak linked to onions imported from the state of State of Chihuahua, Mexico is officially over, there are no further recommendations for consumers regarding this matter. That is not, however, the end of the legal battle over the illnesses caused by the imported onions. According to one national salmonella lawyer who has filed the first lawsuits in this outbreak, “having filed the first few salmonella onion lawsuits, I can tell you this is just eh beginning of the legal struggle to find out how this happened an preventing it from happening again.”
